This invention relates to grass and leaf collection mechanisms for riding lawn mowers and specifically to an improved grass and leaf collection device that greatly increases the volume of grass, leaves, and other lawn residue that can be picked up and transported, is easily unloaded, and is easily stored after use.
It is common to equip riding lawn mowers with bagging devices for collection of grass cuttings, leaves, and other lawn refuse. Typically, the mower blade or a supplemental blower or fan create a vacuum that sucks up lawn debris and transports it through a conduit and into one or more collection bags. The practical size of the collection bags is limited as the bags typically hang in a framework integral with the mower, and the framework must therefore support the collection bags plus the weight of the collected yard refuse. As the bags are therefore limited in size, they are of limited use when grass cuttings are heavy or when the mower is used to remove fallen leaves from the lawn. In this situation, the typical collection bags are woefully inadequate and a better system is needed to remove the large volume of refuse from the lawn.
One method of improving the collection of lawn refuse is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,309 to Hopkins issued Jun. 4, 1991. This patent describes a shredder attachment for use with lawn machines having vacuum or fan movement of shreddable material. The shredder mechanism reduces the volume of leaves or grass clippings but only incrementally increases the volume of lawn refuse that can be collected. The total collection capacity remains limited by the fixed size of the collection bags. The shredder also adds another mechanical device to the mower that increases the mower""s complexity and adds to its maintenance requirements. The shredder and typical devices also increase the resistance to refuse conveyance and raise the back pressure on the attached conveying tubing. In addition, branches are typically sucked up by mower systems, and the shredder blade increases the possibility of those branches becoming jammed in the shredder blades, especially if the branches are of too large a diameter to be shredded by the shredder blade and its motor.
Although the aforementioned patent discloses a method for reducing the volume of grass clippings and leaves, it does not adequately solve the limited storage capacity of mower collection bags. In times when grass is tall and thick, or when collecting leaves, the collection capacity of typical riding lawn mowers is woefully inadequate.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices.
A second objective of the present invention is to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices without adding to the mechanical complexity of the mower.
It is another objective to greatly increase the storage capacity of grass and leaf collection devices without adding mechanical devices that increase the possibility of branches or other oversize items becoming jammed in the conveying passageways of the mower.
It is another objective to reduce the resistance to pick up of bulky yard refuse by providing a refuse collector that creates minimal back pressure on the refuse conveying tube.
The aforementioned problems are overcome by providing a grass and leaf collection sled for a riding lawn mower.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the hinged hood of a typical riding lawn mower discharge chute is lifted and a sheet is laid with its forward edge placed forward of the bag support. The hinged hood is swung down and locked in place thereby clasping the sheet between the hood and the forward rim of the bag support. The remaining forward edge of the sheet is then wrapped around the outside perimeter of the hood and secured to the hood by a bungee cord or similar means. The sheet is sized such that it overlaps the hood at its secured side and trails well behind the riding lawnmower at its free end. The overlap extends from the hood and thence rearwards essentially to the free rearward end of the sheet. Secured to the riding lawn mower in this manner, the sheet becomes an extended, large capacity sled for collection of grass clippings, leaves, and other lawn refuse. The sled is light and can easily be pulled across the lawn by the riding mower. The sled, secured at its forward end between the hood and the forward rim of the bag support, essentially creates a funnel-shaped discharge chute for depositing refuse on the trailing portion of the sled that contacts the ground.
In this manner, the sled greatly increases storage capacity and does so without the addition of complex mechanical devices that can increase air resistance and create jams by trapping branches and other oversize objects.